Data archiving is more than just a technicality – it’s a vital process of storing inactive data securely for long-term retention.
The process may bring many benefits to your company – it can free up primary storage, improve system performance, and ensure data management, compliance, and security.
Still, many companies ignore it or fail to acknowledge its importance. Unknowingly, they expose themselves to severe risks of data breaches.
For example, last year alone, the SEC and CFTC charged 11 financial institutions $2 billion in fines for not collecting, monitoring, and retaining communications over WhatsApp and other messaging apps.
The impact could have been significantly reduced if these communications had been archived and segregated appropriately.
Today, we will uncover the critical role of data archiving in modern security strategies and guide you through implementing it effectively in your company.
The Pros of Data Archiving for Security
So, we’ve established that data archiving is more than just a storage solution. It also enhances your security and other aspects of your business.
But what are the most notable information archiving benefits for your business? We’ve listed some of them below.
-
Reduced storage costs and backup efficiency
One of the first benefits organizations see from data archiving is the significant reduction in storage costs. As inactive data moves to more cost-effective storage mediums, costs are reduced, and backup and restore performances are boosted.
For example, data archiving is the solution for storing email data securely while complying with retention regulations without slowing down your servers. It moves messages to an off-site or cloud server, removes duplicates, and compresses data, saving over 50% of server space.
Efficient backups guarantee data availability and integrity, ensuring businesses can swiftly recover from potential setbacks.
-
Boosted security and compliance
In an era where cyber threats lurk at every corner, data archiving acts as a shield. By isolating older datasets, the vulnerability of sensitive data to malicious cyberattacks and malware decreases.
Furthermore, with strict regulatory environments like GDPR and CCPA, companies have legal obligations regarding data retention. Archiving ensures that such data remains accessible for defined periods, preventing potential legal repercussions.
-
Enabling data visibility and discovery
Imagine pinpointing a specific piece of information from years ago within seconds. Data archiving brings this capability.
Businesses can quickly analyze, audit, and conduct forensic investigations through classification, indexing, and enhanced search functions.
This not only helps in security measures but also enhances data-driven decision-making.
-
Ensuring data migration and preservation
The digital realm is transient. Technologies and storage mediums have become outdated faster than ever.
Data archiving, however, guarantees that valuable organizational data isn’t lost to time. It ensures that data is stored on dependable media and periodically moved to newer formats, preventing data degradation or becoming obsolete.
Strategies for Implementing Effective Data Archiving
However, data archiving is more complex than it may seem to an amateur eye. It requires careful planning, implementation, and upkeep.
Here are some of the challenges that you may face when implementing a data archiving strategy and how to overcome them:
Pre-Archival Planning. Before initiating the archiving process, it’s crucial to identify and categorize data based on its usage frequency, value, sensitivity, and the period it should be retained for.
You must also create a clear and transparent data archiving policy that defines what data needs to be archived, where, retention, data access controls, etc. This way, you will be able to avoid confusion, duplication, or data loss.
Choose a reliable archiving solution. The right data archiving solution can handle your data’s volume, variety, and velocity to ensure your archived data’s quality, accuracy, and consistency.
At the same time, such an archiving system must be able to safeguard your data from unauthorized access, data modification, or deletion. This way, you can maintain your archived data’s confidentiality, integrity, and availability.
Lifecycle Management. Archiving shouldn’t be an isolated process. It should align with every phase of the data’s lifecycle – from its creation and collection to its final disposal.
Stay Updated. The digital sphere is ever-evolving. Regularly updating archiving policies ensures they remain relevant amidst shifting technological and regulatory landscapes.
Secure Access. Limiting access to archived data is fundamental. Implement encryption and stringent access controls to ensure only authorized personnel can access the archives.
Educate and Train. Investing in regular training sessions ensures that everyone understands and appreciates the importance of data archiving, leading to uniform best practices.
The Takeaway
Data is not just information but a vital asset in the digital era. But, if not appropriately managed, this asset can quickly become a liability.
Although it brings many benefits, data archiving has challenges, such as defining a clear policy, choosing a reliable solution, and ensuring data security. To overcome these hurdles and reap the benefits, you must carefully plan and execute your data archiving strategy.
Remember, data archiving is not an option; it is a necessity. So, don’t wait any longer and make data archiving an integral part of your security strategy today.
